Senior Communications Officer at African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP)

Job information 

The Senior Communications Officer will be responsible for guiding the communication and policy engagement efforts within AFIDEP’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) directorate. This role involves developing and executing a creative strategy to communicate and influence policies, aiming to elevate AFIDEP’s recognition as a leading regional development policy institute. Additionally, the goal is to strengthen the impact of research evidence in shaping sustainable development processes across Africa.

Key Responsibilities

Communications, Visibility, and Profiling

• Design and oversee the implementation of AFIDEP’s SDGs directorate communications and policy-influencing strategy.
• Oversee the development of a recognisable AFIDEP brand as a leading policy institute in promoting and enabling evidence uptake in development efforts in all SDG sectors.
• Support evidence synthesis, packaging, and use in five areas, namely: population dynamics and demographic dividend, health and wellbeing, transformative education and skills development, environment and climate change, and governance and accountability.
• Identify and develop relationships with key media outlets to stimulate increased use of evidence in public policy debates.
• Disseminate evidence and encourage critical debate on development issues based on evidence.

Partnerships and Resource Mobilisation

• Build and maintain collaborative partnerships with governments, academic institutions, research institutions, implementing agencies, and funders.
• Build relations with potential end users of evidence and other institutions that generate and promote the use of research evidence.

Capacity Strengthening

• Support internal and external capacity-strengthening efforts aimed at improving the communication and utilisation of research evidence in decision-making in development efforts.

Qualification and experience

• A master’s degree in communications, international relations, public policy, or related fields, with at least five (5) years of experience in policy research communication, and advocacy, including at least two years at the international level.
• Excellent writing and technical editing skills, especially in policy-oriented publications and media products.
• Excellent presentation and public speaking skills.
• Technical skills in publications design, website management, and social media management.
• Ability to dialogue effectively with a wide range of audiences/constituencies and to represent the organisation with authority and credibility.
• Excellent understanding of public policymaking and legislative processes and the role of research in these processes.
• Proven skill in translating research and evidence into effective advocacy strategies that have achieved policy change at a national or international level.
• Proven success in developing and delivering effective country, regional, or international policy engagement and influencing strategies.
• Proven understanding of African socio-political contexts and global developments, and how this influences decision-making in the areas of health, population, and development.
• Competency in facilitating national and international advocacy activities.